Van drives into pedestrians in Germany

[Tchocky]

A van is reported to have driven into pedestrians in the city of Muenster, in western Germany.


A police spokeswoman has said there are "several dead, probably including the suspect".


Local authorities have said about 30 people were injured in the incident, near the Kiepenkerl statue in the old town.


Police asked people to avoid the city centre while they respond to the incident.

https://twitter.com/AP/status/982634343070883840




Early reports are several people killed.


In Nord-Rhein-Westphalia it's a beautiful sunny Saturday. This is heartbreaking.

@Skybird - I hope you and yours are unaffected.

[Buddahaid]

Christ I hate twitter! It's like listening in to the thoughts of insane people rambling.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43683687

[Schroeder]

What can I say... if it had been an accident the police wouldn't advise people to stay away from the area. My condolences to the families of the killed and hope for a speedy recovery of the injured.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Tchocky

https://twitter.com/AP/status/982634343070883840




Early reports are several people killed.


In Nord-Rhein-Westphalia it's a beautiful sunny Saturday. This is heartbreaking.

@Skybird - I hope you and yours are unaffected.

Thank you, Tchocky, both me and my parents (living on the other side of the city) are fine. this indeed is my hometown.

In fact it was a wonderfuly, sunny beautiful day here, and I did a nice bicycle tour down the most romantic Tecklenburger Land and Osnabrücker Land (where I lived earlier for ten years), towards Osnabrück, and when i returned to Münster eight hours and 120 km later, I only wondered about that helicopter being stationary high in the air and above the city centre, the old town. I had a wonderful day, and here obviously somethign terrible happened. Thats life in a chaotic world.

The police does not report on its findings so far. The appartement of the attacker is beign searched. Huge parts of the old town are sealed off. A suspicious object inside the van is being examined.

Some national papers reported the van driver, a German of German descend, has become psychologically striking (conspicious? attention attracting?) already in the past. A terror strike is not being mentioned.

I know and walk all the places and streets where the amok drive took place. 1500 meters away.

Well, life in a chaotic world. Everything can happen. Have had my share of it in the past, repeatedly. Glad this time the show went on without me.

[Catfish]

^ For whatever reason i thought you were in Berlin.
So no one of yours involved .. good. Rest is bad enough.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Catfish

^ For whatever reason i thought you were in Berlin.
So no one of yours involved .. good. Rest is bad enough.

Berlin, the 80s, was before Osnabrück, the 90s. Since 00 its Münster. The 70s was Lübeck. But by birth I am from Detmold, near were the Romans got their backside spanked: Teutoburger Wald... My preferred land to be in, that Teutoburger Wald region. Very romantic.

Enough details of my biography, else people start to believe they recognize me.

[Catfish]

^ well the Romans never managed to concquer the whole of Germany. But there has been an interesting battle near Goeettingen, in a.d. 236 at Harzhorn. Caesar Maximinus Thrax had a scrap (another german attack), but won this time. Though this was probably the last roman intrusion into 'german territory'.
From then on, Rome was being attacked.

[Onkel Neal]

Sorry to hear that.

[Jimbuna]

One positive being there could have been a lot more fatalities but at least the (insert suitable expletive here) is no longer stealing oxygen.

[Commander Wallace]

Jimbuna and Shroeder both said it best. I'm glad Sky and Shroeder were not not hurt in the carnage



Best wishes to those affected

[Skybird]

While investigations also aim at a claimed possible connection to the rightwing scene, the attacker had announced his suicide before and was known by his neighbours to have suffered from severe mental/psychological problems. The attack gets counted so far as that of a - derranged - lone wolf without further ideological connections.

Some of the injured still are in critical condition.

Things could have been far, far worse. I know the place, I park my bike there frequently. Its a hotspot for tourists, and in a weather like this, on a Saturday, it must have been a crowded place. Good news is the street is tight and it is very difficult to bring a van to racing speed in those tight corners with parked cars left and right. also, plenty of stone archs left and right from arcaded sidewalks: traps for a racing car.

The city currently builds retractable street bollards in various places, in prevention to terror attacks after the one in Berlin. Münster is famous for its several christmaks markets which attracts plenty of tourists, and I think it holds the catholic church congress in a few weeks.

[Catfish]

So the driver shot himself. Could this idiot not do that without killing others first. Mental state my donkey, he did it to leave a mark or become "famous". I hope they do not publish his name. Best recipe against those idiots.

[Jimbuna]

^ Agreed

[Skybird]

Seems to have been a loser who did not get along with his social life and had problematic relations to people, including his parents whom he threatened with an axe and decribed in a letter to have had completely shattered relation to. Owning four appartments and four cars, he must have been rich, while still having failed in his job. Police now examines where despite his failed job he had all the money from.

Sounds more and more like some desperate with really serious mental problems who did not manage to get his life lived well and may have had serious social phobia and contact problems as well.

He was known to the police already, for several minor violence related incidents and formerly described disturbed mindset leading to these.

It seems this indeed is more a case of a clinically relevant patient than a political rightwing activist/terrorist.

[Reece]

In other words a nut job!!